Abstract
Mycotoxins are toxic secondary fungal metabolites that can negatively affect animal productivity when ingested through feed. In order to assess mycotoxin contamination of poultry feed and feed ingredients vis-a-vis source tracking of feed contamination in Nigeria, 102 samples of feed (n = 30) and feed ingredients (n = 72) were collected from in-house mills of poultry farms across 12 states of Nigeria and analyzed for multiple mycotoxins using LC/MS-MS. One hundred and forty microbial metabolites were detected in the feed and feed ingredients. The most frequent mycotoxin in the feed was fumonisin B(1), occurring in 97% of the samples at mean concentration of 1014 μg kg(-1). AFB(1) occurred in 83% of the feed samples at mean concentration of 74 μg kg(-1) and in all feed ingredients except fish meal and other cereals (millet and rice). Feed samples analyzed in this study were contaminated with at least four mycotoxins: aflatoxins and fumonisin co-occurring in 80% of the samples. Peanut cake and maize contributed the most to the levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin, respectively, in the feed. Consequently, there is a need to explore other cereal- and protein-based ingredients for compounding feeds in order to reduce the risk associated with high mycotoxin (e.g. aflatoxin) intake in poultry.